About the Book

Will's Choice by Gail Griffith

Finalist: Books for a Better Life

In the early hours of March 11, 2001, 17-year old Will ingested a near fatal dose of his antidepressant medication, an event that forever changed his life and the lives of his family. In Will's Choice, his mother, Gail Griffith, takes us down the very personal road each of the family members traveled to renew Will's interest in life and to regain their equilibrium in the aftermath. Griffith intersperses her own finely wrought prose with dozens of letters and journal entries from family and friends, including many from Will himself, allowing readers to bear witness to Will's attempts to explain what even he cannot fully understand: why he did it. A memoir with a social conscience, this book not only examines a single family's struggle to overcome depression and an attempted suicide; it lays bare the social, political and economic challenges that American families face in combating this most mysterious and stigmatized of illnesses. With a foreword by Dr. David Shaffer, M.D., Columbia University, past president of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Read an interview with Will and Megan from Weekly Reader's magazine Current Health

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Recent news

• 2009 International Capstone Meeting on Suicidality: Academia, Government and Industry Forum

  At the first International Capstone Meeting on suicidality, hosted by Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Gail addressed the gathering on "A Consumer Perspective: When the Facts are Not Enough." The meeting gathered researchers and industry representatives from around the world and was held at the New York Psychiatric Institute January 26 and 27.

• Gail addresses Nebraska Association of Homes and Services for Children, October 2008

  Gail was the keynote speaker at the annual Conference for the Nebraska Association of Homes and Service for Children, held October 23, 2008.

• 2007 Special Needs Bestseller by LibraryJournal.com

  Will's Choice listed as a 2007 Special Needs Bestseller by LibraryJournal.com

• Newsweek Magazine, July 16, 2007, "Trouble in a 'Black Box,"

  Gail is quoted in this Newsweek article which suggests that the black box warning on antidepressants for teens and young adults may have had an adverse effect on prescribing practices. Griffith says, "If" I had known how much the label would rattle parents, I wouldn't have voted for it [the black box warning]." In December 2006, the FDA's psychopharmacological committee voted 6 to 2 to extend the black box labelling to young persons up to twenty-four years of age. Griffith voted against extending the label to include this larger constituency, siting the extraordinary vulnerability of this population and the disastrous consequences of failing to treat depression.

• FDA names Gail griffith consumer representative to the Psychopharmacologica Drug Advisory Committee

  In August 2007, Gail was named consumer representative to the Food and Drug Administration's Psychopharmalogical Drug Advisory Committee for a four year term.

• Will's Choice reviewed on American Association of Suicidology website, Summer 2007

  Will's Choice: A suicidal teen, a desperate mother, and a chronicle of recovery by Gail Griffith (2006) Reviewed by Judy R. Kletter. Go to: http://www.suicidology.org/ and click on "bookstore" AAS reviewed books.

• Keynote spaker at 2007 American Psychiatric Nurses Association Annual Meeting

  On October 3, Gail will deliver the keyntoe address to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, meeting in Kissimmee, Florida. She will recount how her family came to terms with the suicide attempt of her teenage son.

• Radio interviews 2006

  Over the course of the summer, Gail was interviewed about teen depression and Will's Choice for the following live radio programs: What's Going On? June 9th WLYU- Vidalia, Georgia Jeff Brucculeri Show, June 21st KAKC-AM - Tulsa, Oklahoma Kris McGregor, June 22nd Spirit 88.9 FM KVSS - Omaha, Nebraska Greg Berg Show, June 23rd WGTD-FM - Madison, Wisconsin Ron Thulin Show, June 27th KAHL San Antonio KGAB, Wyoming, Friday, July 7th North Dakota Public Radio on "Access to Healthcare Issues" interviewed September 23, by Sarah Morrau.

• Suicide Prevention Action Network

• 2006 Tipper Gore Remember the Children Award

  Gail was honored with the "Tipper Gore: Remember the Children Award," given by the National Mental Health Association at their annual meeting in June. For pictures of the ceremony, or details about NMHA's annual meeting, please visit their website, www.nmha.org.

• CrisisLink to honor Gail at annual Link Up and Listen event in 2006

  The non-profit Crisis Link selected Gail to receive one of four Community Hero Awards at the annual Link Up and Listen event, March 29, 2006. The organization cited her work "advocating for mental health issues and raising awareness of the threat and impact of suicide."